Race, Class, and Gender in Literacy Research (Summer 2011)

Hi, my name is Carol Holt and I currently work as a Title One Reading teacher for Kindergarten through 5th grade. It’s surprising that I became a reading teacher when I think of my early experiences with reading in school. I do have fond memories of thumbing through Dr. Seuss books at home and occasionally visiting the library downtown. But I don’t remember particularly enjoying reading in elementary school (1st-8th) or high school (9th-12th). As a result, I didn’t do a lot of reading on my own!

In elementary school we always sat in rows of desks and took turns reading aloud. Because I was so nervous about reading aloud in front of the whole class, I would always count the students and the paragraphs and pre-read my paragraph. Then I would continue to take a head count and recount the paragraphs. Needless to say, I would never fully comprehend what we were reading, much less enjoy the story. In high school we sat in rows alphabetically and I just never got into reading.

I did enjoy writing, though. I remember writing lots of stories just for fun and creating little books. I would take the stories when we visited my grandmother and read them to her. She always smiled and told me what a good writer I was. We were able to get a pen pal through school and my pen pal was from Japan. I enjoyed writing to him and sending him little gifts from the United States. It was always exciting to receive his letters and gifts.

It was not until I started a family of my own that I realized I had a passion for children’s literature. I have spent a small fortune on children’s books. I used to sit on the floor in the middle of the aisles at the bookstore and flip through picture book after picture book. I have a BA in Art, so the illustrations would grab my attention just as much as the story. My children and I would read books together any time of day, but we especially enjoyed reading at bedtime after piling into bed and snuggling up with a good book or two.

After graduating from UNC-Wilmington with a degree in Art, I worked in UNC-W’s Printing Services Department as a lithographer. One benefit for employees included being able to take a class a semester for free, so I began taking courses in education. It was a long range goal, but eventually I was certified to teach Elementary Education K-6. Literature for Children was my favorite class! While I was a stay-at-home mom I worked as a reading tutor. Once both of my children entered elementary school, that tutoring position became a full time Title One Reading position. I received my Reading K-12 license from ASU.

I love my job! I get to work with small groups of children who struggle in reading, and I try my best to make it the most enjoyable part of their day. The ASU graduate program has been instrumental in helping me help these students. I have learned so much about reading assessment and how to meet the needs of my students. I understand the importance of creating a friendly, safe environment, and the value of choice in reading. How do I feel about reading now? I think reading is wonderful! I believe reading is the cornerstone of all learning. I thoroughly enjoy children’s literature, and maybe after grad school I’ll check out some good literature for adults. By the way, this is my last class! : )

Carol Holt